Sunday, December 21, 2003

I have been away from the malay literary world for more than 20 years. The nearest reading material that I came across during that 20 years were some bits and pieces of newspaper clippings and some fashion magazines in bahasa melayu. I have been totally cut-off from the malay language and feel the need to upgrade when I foundout with lots of embarrassment, that I am still following the old spelling system in Bahasa Melayu. Actually, with the support of a very strong and determined person, Sdr Damahum, I found myself sincerely trying to improve myself with bahasa melayu. I have to write this in English (much to the dislike of my said-supporter) as I found myself still trying to climb the ladder of malay words step-by-step.This is the first novel in Malay after more that 25 years, "Tak Semanis Impian" by Sharifah Abu Salem. From what I understand, this is a follow-up version of the first novel "Tak seindah Mimpi" but I missed reading the first version.

The book tells of the prohibited love of a young girl for her elder sister's husband. The story of the social rankings in the malay society, of the transformation of a village girl into an up-and-coming town girl, of the dealings in the private business world and the comparison of the simple life in the village with the buzzing life in metropolitan city.

The book mentioned much on the word "MasyaAllah" and I found the meaning in the book quite confusing with the actual meaning of this word that I know of.The original meaning in Arab is "dengan kehendak Allah (SWT)" or "Allah (SWT) has willed it".(Menyebut "masyaAllah" apabila memuji seseorang atau sesuatu), when expressing appreciation of someone or something for example."MasyaAllah, comelnnya anak itu" or masyaAllah, your wife is pretty.We give praise to Allah (SWT) first before praising the subject or things mentioned.But the malay language has taken a wrong version of the actual meaning of this beautiful word for example as noticed written abundantly in this book.

I conclude with the shallow knowledge of the malay literary world, the word "masyaAllah" is confused with *masaalah=enigma (a person, thing or event that is strange or mysterious and difficult to understand or explain) or *masalah=problem.

This book also conveys the peculiar way some of the carry-ons are done in the business world. An inexperienced girl from a village being trust with the accounting of a successful firm, a previous-maid housewife being allowed to mingle and handle the decision-making machine of her husband private business. Maybe the writer has the intention of making this as a simple subplot but in reality this is obviously contradictory.

Some of the dialogue the characters used in English are grammatically disappointing like "You should have to be proud of her!" (pg 483) and "Dan I will spying of you!" (pg 484).

The writer has an effective way of showing the character's emotion, when Norjinah feels badly treated by her step-father. This emotion is strongly shown in the book and I have to force my tears from flowing during the death-bed speech when the father calls for his step-daughter"Ji...mari dekat ayah nak!" (pg 533), at last acknowledging his step-daughter's kindness.

Being away from the malay community for more than 2 decades, I find this novel brought me back the nostalgia of the malay culture. Like having mid-afternoon meal. I realized that the malay has 4 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon meal and dinner. Some of the writer's menu for the mid-afternoon meals are baked ubi bengkang (pg 43), pisang goreng and kuih (pg 373).

I write not with the intention of hurting the writer's feeling or giving criticism just for the sake of criticising. I write because I feel the writer needs to know that readers now are much more vocal and influential regarding their books and writings. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and what I have written here is just my own humble opinion.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

I can go through the whole day at home without saying anything except for "domo-domo". The thing is I can get through the day perfectly with just "domo-domo".

This is life in Japan. This magic word is vague but will get anyone, anywhere. My shopping trip will take me to 3 or 4 malls and shops at one time. I will get the usual "Irashaiimase", then pay for my goods. The cashier would mentioned the amount of cash given and mentioned the amount of change with "okaishi shimasu"(returning your change). Then, "mata okoshi kudasai" (please come again) with a big "arigatou gozaimashita". When you are blocking the way while browsing in the aisle instead of saying "excuse me, please" the staff there would shout "irashaimase", making you jump aside to let them through. Very polite way to say "get out of my way"! I can go through the whole day, not smiling or saying anything to anyone at all.

I remember while in Malaysia, Johore Bahru. I often shopped at Pelangi Plaza, the mall called Kerry's (not there anymore now). I went there regularly and the checking staff there were quite familiar with me after few visits. They made friendly conversations while checking my items like "your scarf is colourful today or you are all pink today". Then, I started to make friendly conversations as well. But not the usual case in Japan. You only speak when you cannot find anything or for price inquiry, which frequently happened to me.

In Japan "QUITE" has a very different meaning. When you ask a typical Japanese something he cannot understand, he will go quite. When he disagrees with your point of view, he will go quite. When you embarass him, he will be quite. When he finds you strange with strange foreign habit, he will be quite.Quite also shows advance stage of intimacy. When lovers very much in love, they are quite. Lovers don't even hold hands in public.You don't see loving couple kissing on escalators or young couple hugging waist while walking. Loving couples are very quite!

Friday, December 05, 2003

Driving in Japan is quite complicated and expensive. Those who cannotread the language will have trouble understanding road signs. Highwaytolls are assessed at about US $1 per mile. City traffic is often verycongested. A 20-mile trip in the Tokyo area may take two hours. There isvirtually no roadside parking. In mountainous areas, roads are oftenclosed during the winter, and cars should be equipped with tire chains.

Foreigners should be alert to traffic on secondary roads, which doesnot come to a full stop at traffic lights or stop signs. Roads in Japanare much narrower than those in the United States. Vehicular trafficmoves on the left. Turns at red lights are forbidden unless specificallyauthorized.

Japanese compulsory insurance is mandatory for all automobile ownersand drivers in Japan. Your local auto insurance taken from your own country likely does not providecoverage in Japan.

Accidents and Liability: Japanese law provides that all persons who drive in Japan are heldliable in the event of an accident, and assesses fault in an accident onall parties.

Drivers stopped for driving under the influence will have theirlicenses confiscated. Laws passed in late 2001 make persons found guilty of"drunken, speeding or blatantly careless driving that results in death"subject to up to 15 years in prison, tripling the previous maximumsentence. Japanese police, under these new laws, will also be permitted tocontact financial institutions directly to determine an offender'sfinancial status to combat evasion of payment for traffic violations.

SAPPORO (Kyodo) The Sapporo District Court on Wednesday ordered a woman who hit and killed a 9-year-old boy with her car in Hokkaido to pay around 54 million yen in damages to his parents.The money will be paid in monthly installments that coincide with the date of the boy's death.

Presiding Judge Kazushi Teranishi ordered the 52-year-old woman to issue payments on the 18th of each month over a period of 30 years.

The ruling is partly in keeping with the demands of the parents of Toshihiko Doba, the fourth year elementary school student who died in the accident on Aug. 18, 2001.

Kazuhiko Doba, 45, and his wife, Kumiko, 38, sought damages of around 75 million yen.

They had also asked that the payments be made on the same date as their son's death, saying they did not want the woman to forget that a precious life had been taken.

The woman was convicted of causing injury and death through negligence and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Her car veered onto a sidewalk in the city of Kitahiroshima, plowing into four boys riding their bicycles.

The three other boys sustained injuries.

In a separate ruling in July, the Tokyo District Court ordered a 59-year-old truck driver to pay damages in a similar fashion. The truck driver caused an accident on the Tomei Expressway in Tokyo that resulted in the deaths of two girls, aged 1 and 3.

With signs that say "Digital is coming!" hanging in stores packed with new TV models promising dazzling imagery, Tokyo's bustling electronics shopping district in Akihabara is one place in Japan that's gung-ho about digital television broadcasting that began Monday.

Digital broadcasting will still reach just parts of three major cities, and potential viewers are estimated at 12 million households. But with reception for some channels poor because of Japan's mountainous and cramped terrain, the tally may be half that -- and actual viewers even fewer, at about 300,000.

The government is determined to make digital broadcasting the nation's standard, and has vowed to phase out analog broadcasting by 2011. So officials say digital TV, despite its likely slow start, is here to stay.

The economic perks are expected to total 200 trillion yen over the next decade, according to the telecommunications ministry, as people rush out to buy digital TVs, broadcasters invest in equipment and new kinds of services blossom.

The government is investing 180 billion yen to help get the system started, and is targeting the end of 2006 for making it available nationwide.

The air waves for analog TVs and digital TVs are basically similar. But using digital signals allows for relaying larger amounts of information. A digital TV has twice as many lines on a screen to create images as an analog TV, delivering a more vivid and theaterlike picture. Digital broadcasting can also relay hundreds of channels in less dazzling video quality.

Another feature of digital TVs is viewer participation, including surveys, contest balloting or educational programs, although such programs were scarce Monday. The television can also receive data that pop up as words on the screen, including player statistics for a baseball game, or local news headlines and weather reports targeting specific areas.

In the future, commuters will be watching digital TV programs on mobile phones and other hand-held devices, although a disagreement over patents has delayed that launch in Japan.

The advent of digital TV is symbolic of a larger move toward "a network society" that delivers information catered to each individual instead of a dominant mass media that acts as opinion leader, said Tatsuo Inamasu, a professor at Hosei University in Tokyo.

"It means nothing other than the dismantling of TV by the Internet. Information is now becoming a two-way street," Inamasu said. "The connections among individuals are going to be (horizontal), rather than controlled (from) the top."

Japan has had satellite digital broadcast since 2001, drawing 4.7 million households so far. The new system is terrestrial and won't use satellites.

The United States has had terrestrial digital broadcasting since 1998, and other nations, including England, Sweden, Australia and South Korea, also already have it. The reception has been mixed. Spain's commercial terrestrial digital broadcasting network went bust.

In Japan, sales of cathode ray tube, or CRT, TVs still outpace plasma and liquid-crystal display TVs. But that's beginning to change.

For the first nine months of this year, LCD TV sales totaled 980,000, up 41 percent from the same period a year ago, while plasma TVs sales totaled 140,000, up 29 percent. And data show Japanese who are thinking of replacing their old TV sets are opting for LCD or plasma -- and for going digital.

The pace at which LCD and plasma TVs are selling rivals the speed with which black-and-white TVs gave way to color sets in the 1970s in Japan, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a major business daily, reported last week.

Digital broadcasting requires a tuner, which costs about 80,000 yen here. But fully enjoying its advantages requires a new TV set. Some models come with the tuner inside for an extra price. Interactive features require hooking the tuner to a phone line.

Prices on the TVs vary, but one with a 50-inch plasma screen, which delivers the visual splendor of a home theater, costs 800,000 yen.

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Thank you to all people who read my down-to-earth post.I would love to write more but there are other obligations too.But, I would write when time permits. [8 Jan. 2012]Facebook: Leyla Shuri.Facebook: Pulut Sakura Serunding KasihFacebook: Percikan Pelangi*****http://www.huffingtonpost.com/holly-robinson/does-blogging-sell-books_b_2706943.html